Travel Pros and Cons for a Trailer
Within the first 15 minutes of picking up Avenger, our 38 ft rented travel trailer, there was a flat tire. The next day, we felt the second flat around 9:00 pm in the middle of Nowheresville, Alabama. It took three hours and three different assistance calls before we could safely drive to a truck stop for a few winks of sleep. Then, we purchased four new tires in Meridian, Mississippi after being told we would never make it to California with the current tires in motion.
We had several things pop off, break, or fly open in the middle of our journey across the country. One nice couple came up next to our truck honking loudly on the highway. They politely motioned that our master bedroom window was open. Thankfully no undergarments were flying around the interstate!
Anyone who has ever driven an RV for more than a day understands this standard saga. It's almost as if houses were not meant to be driven right? However, many, many people are "full-timers" these days. They know the tricks of the trade, and they've had their fair share of mishaps. The difference is that they understand an RV is not just a car or a bed on wheels. It needs lots of TLC. It's like your home, car, phone, and lawn all put together. If you let your plumbing freeze, your cell phone overheat, and your lawn grow over with weeds, they stop functioning properly.
Likewise, when you rent an RV, you are more likely to experience issues because you don't know the last time everything was updated, maintained, or altered. Tires, for example, must be changed frequently, especially when they sit in the heat or the cold for extended periods of time. It's not just about the use, though, but also the materials used. More often than not, full-time RVers will renovate their new homes in order to create space that travels for years rather than week-long vacations.
*I mentioned using RVshare.com in another travel post. BE ADVISED: we've have varied experiences with this website. Be sure you like WHOM you are renting from before moving forward because the company itself fell majorly "flat" during our last trip. We were disappointed to say the least.
Here's our view of Travel Trailers when compared to a drivable Class C:
BAD Parts of Avenger -
This particular model did not come with a generator as most Class C models do. BAD without a generator. The trailer would get super hot and because you don't have the car air conditioning unit connected you can’t keep everything as cool on long travel days
Likewise it was BAD that we had to reheat or rechill the whole RV after long travel days
BAD because of the detachment from the truck it would swing more, making turns and speed harder.
BAD that we had to travel slower with a detached trailer
BAD backing out of places because it was so long and not connected to the bed of the truck like a 5th Wheel
BAD that you can’t get up to move around when your driving
BAD for Long travel days -obvious reasons- more cramped in a truck with 6 people
BAD that you have to double check your width for slide-outs before pulling into a hook up location
GOOD Parts of Avenger
GOOD that you don’t feel every issue like in class C- Had our tires blown in a Class C, it would have felt way more dangerous than our truck feeling stable and the trailer only popping tires
GOOD that you can detach the trailer to go around towns once you set up camp
GOOD that there are no stairs within a trailer for little ones to trip at night. Trailers, unlike a 5th wheel, have a nice flat design.
GOOD that it felt more spacious with the slides out. We didn't bump our heads or toes like we did in the Class C.
GOOD to have the master bedroom separate from the bunks when compared to our last Class C.
Overall, I'd say the BAD outweighed the good this time with Avenger. However, many people said they were shocked we drove a 38 ft trailer across the country. One couple told us that if we could drive Avenger from Georgia to Cali, we could drive ANYTHING. An attached 5th wheel would feel more stable and give us a chance to drive at a quicker pace. We are pretty certain a 5th wheel is going to be our RV or choice with the size and stature of our family. We stayed in one at Disney last year, but have yet to pull one across the USA. It's really been a great learning experience to try it before we buy it! Here's some slide pics from our past rentals and family sizes...
and more summer fun without wheels...
~Carefully Careless
Comments